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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27357220">Two Sunsets</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachybitters/pseuds/Peach_Bitters'>Peach_Bitters (peachybitters)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Anakin and Obi-Wan [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Angst, Baby Anakin Skywalker, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Developing Friendships, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Jedi Temple, Master &amp; Padawan Relationship(s), Missing Scene, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:35:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,792</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27357220</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachybitters/pseuds/Peach_Bitters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during the events of TPM. Not by his own choice, Obi-Wan is tasked with taking care of the little boy from Tatooine.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Obi-Wan Kenobi &amp; Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon Jinn &amp; Obi-Wan Kenobi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Anakin and Obi-Wan [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1864819</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>169</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Two Sunsets</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic developed because I was thinking it's kind of funny that after Anakin is freed in TPM he still doesn't get any decent clothes until the end of the movie. I guess what he has is functional? But they are still pretty ragged (and probably not very warm). Anyway, I think too much about silly movies.  :D</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sun of Coruscant had begun to set, bathing the antechamber of the Temple spire in a warm orange light.</p><p>Obi-Wan watched Qui-Gon, wondering what was going through his master’s head, and not for the first time that day. Qui-Gon was gazing down thoughtfully at the small, shabby boy they had brought from Tatooine.</p><p>Except<em> they </em>had not brought Anakin here. That was all Qui-Gon’s doing. For all Obi-Wan loved and respected his master, Qui-Gon had made some strange decisions in the time he’d known him. To bring the boy here to the Temple and request he be taken into the Order was perhaps the very strangest. Strong with the Force as he was, Anakin was much too old to be accepted for training. Qui-Gon knew this.</p><p>“A couple of the masters were called away and the Council won’t be completely assembled for a half hour or so,” Qui-Gon said after a moment. “Obi-Wan, in the meantime, take Anakin down to the quartermaster and get him some new clothes to wear. I’m sure no one will miss them. They’ll be warmer than the ones he has now.”</p><p>Obi-Wan looked sharply at his master, not daring to speak the question but hoping that Qui-Gon understood: <em> why should I be in charge of this child? </em> </p><p>He had believed - obviously mistakenly - that he and Qui-Gon shared an unspoken understanding that Anakin was Qui-Gon’s responsibility alone, much like the insufferable Jar Jar Binks. Of course, Qui-Gon had left Jar Jar for the moment with Queen Amidala’s entourage, so Obi-Wan supposed he could not be too surprised at this turn of events.</p><p>“I have business in the Archives,” Qui-Gon said, his voice holding a note of finality.</p><p>Obi-Wan gave him a curt nod, knowing that to argue would be fruitless. He looked down at Anakin, who was inspecting his threadbare shirt with interest. “Come with me.”</p><p>Business in the Archives, indeed! No doubt this chore was some kind of unspoken penance - an exercise in humility. Obi-Wan was not unused to such things. Of course it would not have escaped Qui-Gon’s notice Obi-Wan had barely spoken a word to Anakin the whole journey here. No doubt his master thought him haughty. But Obi-Wan had nothing personal against the boy. Well, not really. He had just needed to make it plain to Qui-Gon, one way or another, that he was not in step with this decision.</p><p>The child began to prattle to him at once. “The Temple is so big! Do you live here, or do you have your own house?”</p><p>“I live here,” Obi-Wan said.</p><p>“Do all the <em> Jedis </em> live here?” Anakin asked.</p><p>“Generally.” </p><p>He kept walking but sighed when he realized that Anakin had stopped to gaze out of a window onto a training balcony, watching some young students passing a ball back and forth to one another, buoying it up with the Force.</p><p>“Wizard!” Anakin exclaimed, nearly pressing his face against the window. “I never saw a game like that! I wish I could play. Do you think they’ll really let me be a Jedi?”</p><p><em> No </em>, Obi-Wan thought without hesitation. For all the boy’s bubbly chatter, he was radiating fear and sadness through the Force like Obi-Wan hadn’t felt from anyone in a long time. It pressed against him keenly and oppressively, shedding off of the boy in waves of heavy loneliness and grief. If Obi-Wan felt it, Qui-Gon must have felt it as well. The Council surely would. What, he wondered, did Qui-Gon think the Jedi could do for the child? Anakin was too old, too scarred, too burdened.</p><p>He chose his words carefully. “I don’t know. But the Council is wise. I’m sure they’ll make the right decision.”</p><p>Anakin nodded solemnly. “I hope they say yes.”</p><p>The quartermaster was unusually busy. Anakin stared openly at the Jedi who moved through the rows of supplies, choosing clothing and equipment. Obi-Wan clamped his hand on the child’s shoulder to keep him from wandering away- he couldn’t imagine what Qui-Gon would say to him if somehow he lost Anakin before such an important Council meeting.</p><p>“Is this a store?” Anakin asked, looking around in wonder. “There’s so much here.”</p><p>“No,” Obi-Wan answered, distracted by his task in hand. “It’s just a supply room.”</p><p>“It’s <em> free </em>?” Anakin nearly gasped. “All of this?”</p><p>Obi-Wan didn’t answer. He steered Anakin toward the clothing quickly and began rummaging through the smaller clothes, attempting to find the appropriate size. The tunics were easy - he figured they could be a bit big without being altered. He selected an inner and outer tunic for the boy and decided that Anakin did not need a tabard. The pants were trickier. They all seemed to be too short or much too big, and would need to be brought to the tailoring droid for alteration, which could take several minutes if there was a wait. And then of course Anakin would need new boots and probably socks. And Obi-Wan would have to find somewhere for him to dress and dispose of his old clothes. What had seemed at first like a simple task now seemed strangely complicated.</p><p>He looked up to see Anakin approaching him with a multi-tool in his hand and admonished himself for not having even realized the boy had apparently moved away.</p><p>“Stay here with me, please, Anakin. Where did you get that?”</p><p>Anakin held the tool out to him tentatively. “Do you think I can have this? Since it’s free? There was a big box of them.”</p><p>“No,” Obi-Wan said at once. “Put it back.”</p><p>Anakin looked crestfallen but complied without hesitation, and Obi-Wan watched him to make sure he would not go wandering off again to touch anything else. He wondered briefly if Qui-Gon would have let Anakin keep the multi tool, but didn’t trouble himself about it. If Qui-Gon believed the boy needed gifts bestowed upon him he could have brought him here himself.</p><p>Anakin returned empty handed and Obi-Wan checked the time and shook his head. Getting Anakin what he needed wasn’t worth risking being late. He wondered if Qui-Gon had known all along, if this had been some kind of test. “We need to get you back up to the Council chamber. I’m sorry, but this will have to wait.”</p><p>“Okay,” Anakin said. He looked more sad now, not even trying to cover it up. Obi-Wan felt a stab of guilt. There was no way around it - after spending so many years at Qui-Gon’s side his master’s ways had gotten under his skin. At least a little.  He steered the boy toward the exit but not before stopping by the multitools and plucking on out of the bin. They were, after all, nothing special. Routine tools for everyday use and inexpensive. He handed it to the boy who took it with wide eyes, as if receiving a precious treasure.</p><p>“Wow! Are you <em> sure </em>? Thanks!”</p><p>“Scan it on your way out,” Obi-Wan ordered, pointing Anakin toward a computer screen near the door.</p><p>The boy did so then looked up at Obi-Wan with awe and once again began his stream of chatter. “This one is way nicer than the one I brought from home…”</p><p>Obi-Wan gritted his teeth but said little until they met Qui-Gon near the entrance to the Council chambers.</p>
<hr/><p>The sun of Naboo had begun its slow descent over the city of Theed, casting shadows across the polished corridors of the Royal Palace.</p><p>Obi-Wan looked down at Anakin, wishing the boy would say something. Since Qui-Gon’s death, not more than a word or two had passed the boy’s lips at a time, and for long stretches, nothing at all. His silence was not one of peace. the Force around him swirled and churned, a howling storm. But as with any storm, Obi-Wan knew it would pass.</p><p>He had promised Qui-Gon he’d train the boy. He had cast his own thoughts and opinions about Anakin aside, determined to forget them; he had a new purpose, and they would not serve it. Only the task at hand mattered now, and he would see it through.</p><p>Obi-Wan had barely let the boy out of his sight since it happened, made sure he ate and rested, and that he did not feel alone.  But he had been able to offer him few words of comfort. He had even less to offer himself. Only that the Thing that had slain his master was dead.</p><p>The Council had made him a Knight. He would take Anakin as his apprentice, with or without the Council’s official blessing.  Anakin did not know. Let Qui-Gon be put to rest, first. Let this chapter end. Then they would move on.</p><p>He opened the door to the guest suite that he and the boy shared and immediately noted a small pile of neatly folded clothes on the seat of an ornate chair in the sitting room. Clothes a young Jedi would wear. Boots too, and a new belt.</p><p>“Look, Anakin. The Council members must have brought these for you. Wasn’t that thoughtful of them?” Obi-Wan thought of the mysterious smile Master Billaba had given him earlier that day, and made a mental note to thank her for her kindness.</p><p>“Yeah,” Anakin agreed in a tired voice. <em> Poor boy. </em> Obi-Wan supposed he had not been sleeping so well. He hadn’t been, either. </p><p>“I’m going to go speak with Master Yoda for a few minutes,” Obi-Wan said. “Get changed now and I’ll come get you soon and we’ll go to the funeral together. All right?”</p><p>Anakin nodded. “Okay.” </p><p>When Obi-Wan returned to their quarters a few minutes later he felt strange.  Lighter somehow - the Council had approved him taking Anakin as his apprentice - and yet the weight  of Master Yoda’s blatant and bitter disapproval sat heavily on him. Funny to think that not long ago he would have defended Yoda’s misgivings without a second thought.</p><p>He was greeted by the sight of the new clothes still stacked neatly and apparently untouched on the chair where they had found them, and Anakin sprawled out on the sofa nearby, asleep. The storm around him had ceased for the moment and he lay untroubled, breathing softly. Obi-Wan did not want to wake him, but he made himself, squeezing the boy’s shoulder gently.</p><p>“We must go, Anakin. It’s nearly time.”</p><p>Anakin started awake. “Oh! I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I didn’t get dressed.” He began to move toward his clothes but Obi-Wan stopped him.</p><p>“No matter. We need to go. You’ll wear them tomorrow.”</p><p>“Tomorrow,” Anakin said, to himself more than to Obi-Wan. A question seemed to hang about him, but he didn’t ask it. Obi-Wan answered it in his own mind as they went out together into the dusk.</p><p>
  <em> “Yes. Yes, my Padawan.” </em>
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